Bag filler

ABSTRACT

A DEVICE FOR PACKING BAGS TIGHTLY WITH SUGAR OR SIMILAR MATERIALS WHEREIN AN AIRBLAST IS PROVIDED TO AT LEAST PARTIALLY OPEN THE BAG AND THE PRE-WEIGHED LOAD OF MATERIAL BEING PUT IN THE BAG IS DIVIDED INTO INCREMENTS, ONE OF WHICH IS ADDED RAPIDLY WHILE THE BAG IS BEING SHAKEN AND THE SECOND OF WHICH IS ADDED AT A SLOWER RATE. NORMALLY THE FIRST INCREMENT IS ABOUT 90 TO 95% OR THE TOTAL MATERIAL WHILE THE SECOND INCREMENT IS 5 TO 10% OF THE TOTAL.

.T,} E. SON ETAL 3,572,401

BAG FILLER Much-23, 1971 4 She ets-Sheet 1 Fi1ed-Aug. 22, 1969 INVENTORS THEUDOKE J. NELSON BY JSEPH J. CUZ/C r 'eaev T. J. NELSON ETAL March 23, 1971 BAG FILLER 4 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed Aug. 22, 1969 INVENTORS THEUDUKE J. NELSUN BY J05fPl-l J. CUZ/ AT OKNEV March 23, 1971 NELSON ETAL 3,572,401

BAG FILLER Filed Aug. 22 1969 4 Sheets-Sheet I IEF -93- IN/T/AL DISC/4.416615 FKOM LAKGE HOFPEK SUGA/Z FLOW mm BAG METERIED FROM WEI/6 INVENTORS i THE000K J. NELSON TIME BY J05 H J. Cl/Z/ FII: I E)- AT NEV March 23, 1971 NELSON ETAL 3,572,401

BAG FILLER 4 Sheets-Sheet 4.

Filed Aug. 22, 1969 v Fun-1 INVENTOR5 THEODOKE J. NELSON BY JOSEP ATT NEV FIE--113- United States Patent 3,572,401 BAG FILLER Theodore J. Nelson, Crockett, and Joseph .I. Cuzic, Walnut Creek, Calif., assignors to California and Hawaiian Sugar Company Filed Aug. 22, 1969, Ser. No. 852,248 Int. Cl. B65b 3/10 US. Cl. 141-67 4 Claims ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE A device for packing bags tightly with sugar or similar materials wherein an airblast is provided to at least partially open the bag and the pre-Weighed load of material being put in the bag is divided into increments, one of which is added rapidly while the bag is being shaken and the second of which is added at a slower rate. Normally the first increment is about 90 to 95% of the total material while the second increment is to of the total.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION In filling bags with commodities such as sugar, it is likely desirable to use bags having square corners and to get as much material as possible into a bag of a certain size. By completely filling the bag, one is able to stack more bags on a standard pallet so that the bags are easier to handle and occupy less room in storage. Further, by completely filling the bag the square configuration which results provides for a more stable load on a pallet.

The present invention provides a modification of existing bag filling machinery whereby the bags are more completely filled than has been possible in the past. Two modifications are made on an existing bag filler which, beyond the benefits of all ordinary measures familiar to those experienced in the art, account for this more complete filling.

The first is that the bag itself is at least partially opened by a shockwave blast of air. The air is delivered through the existing spout on a bag filling machine with the air inlet being set to flow with but at an angle to the normal path of travel of the material entering the bag. Preferably the bag is not fully distended by the shockwave of air since if the bag were full of air, it would interfere with the rapid introduction of the solid material.

The second modification of the existing equipment is the provision of an auxiliary hopper which fits inside of the hopper of a standard bag filling machine, with a small weir therein so that a portion of the pre-weighed charge is trapped by the auxiliary hopper and released as a small stream out of the weir.

At all times while the bag is being filled, it is customarily subjected to a mechanical vibration which causes the material to settle in the bag.

By setting the air introduction stream at an angle to the passage of the material into the bag, no constriction is formed so that a full stream of material is permitted to flow into the bag.

By admitting the air blast through discharge outlet as hereinafter described, the necessity of having a flexible air line which would move with the spout as it is shifted to and from the filling position is obviated and a solid line can be used.

The invention also provides a control circuit which is initiated by the movement of the fill mechanism to initiate the air blast at the proper time and for the right length of time. The air blast is controlled by a timed electrical circuit through a solenoid valve and has appropriate metering controls so that a high velocity, low volume shockwave of air is exploded into the bag to pop it open.

3,572,401 Patented Mar. 23, 1971 "ice As will be later apparent, the division of the charge into two portions and the feeding of the second portion at a lower rate is automatic and requires no actuating mechamsm.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is a side view, partly in section of a bag machine embodying the present invention.

FIG. 2 is an enlarged side section showing the disgharge orifice and bag filling nozzle together with the air ast.

FIG. 3 is a plan view of the equipment shown in FIG. 2.

FIG. 4 is a section on the line 4-4 of FIG. 3.

FIG. 5 is a diagram showing a typical pattern of the rate of flow of material into the bag.

FIG. 6 is a front view of the bag filling machine shown in FIG. 1.

FIG. 7 is a series of diagrammatic views illustrating the sequence of operations.

FIG. 8 is a plan view of the hopper of a bag filling machine showing the auxiliary hopper in place.

FIG. 9 is a side sectional view of the hopper shown in FIG. 8.

FIG. 10 is a wiring diagram showing the control circuitry for the bag filling device.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT The present invention relates to certain modifications of a commercial bag filling machine which is well known to those skilled in the art of filling valve-type bags. Therefore, certain parts of the machine which are already known and which form no part of the present invention will not be described in detail.

The bag filling facilities include a pair of weighing scales 12 which alternately discharges into a hopper 14 which in turn discharges into a drum and belt mechanism generally designated 16 where the material i discharged at a high rate of speed into a bag 18. The material passing from the hopper 14 passes through a valve 20 which can be manually set by means of handle 22 to change the uniform rate of discharge which will prevail during the filling cycle into the bag. In passing from the mechanism 16 into the bag, the material goes through a discharge orifice 24 and then into a spout 26 which is inserted within the bag 18 as is best seen in FIGS. 1 and 2.

In the particular machine in question, a pair of spouts are employed as is seen in FIG. 6. Thus, spouts 26a and 26b are mounted on a sliding carriage 28 which also carries vibrating supporting chairs 30 and 32. Each of chairs 30 and 32 has a narrow slot with near vertical sides and as the nearly-filled bags length decreases as the side walls distend, to the point where the bottom of the filled bag rises and straddles (across) the upper horizontal components of the chair, the bag rests on top. In the position shown in FIG. 6, spout 26a is in discharge relationship with a bag while the spout 26b is olf to one side. While the bag at 26a is being filled, a full bag is removed from the spout 26b and an empty placed thereon. When the bag at 26a is filled, the operator trips lever 34 which causes the carriage 28 to shift, in this instance to the left, bringing the empty bag on the nozzle 26b into filling relationship for a repetition of the cycle. The structure thus far described is by way of background information and forms no part of the present invention.

In order to attain the compactly-settled fill in a brief filling cycle two modifications are made on the standard bag filling machine. The first of these is the provision of an explosive air blast to open the bag.

Referring specifically to FIGS. 2 and 10, the material to be filled into the bag passes through a discharge opening 24, which is stationary while the nozzle 26 moves back and forth on the carriage, as previously described, into and out of bag filling relationship with the outlet. In order to open the bag, a source of air is provided, not illustrated, which enters through line 31 through a shut-off valve 36, through a filter 38 and then through an adjustable metering valve 40. The actual flow of air is controlled by a solenoid valve 42, the operation of which is subsequently described in detail and then passes through line 44 into passage 46 in the discharge opening 24. It will be seen that the entrance port 46 is set at an acute angle to the path of travel of material entering the bag and also that it does not protrude into the path of travel. Thus the blast is directed toward the bag and no obstructions are formed in the path of material which enters the bag. The blast is admitted for only a short period of time and is sufficient to largely open the bag. However, the blast does not fully distend the bag since this would introduce a large quantity of air which would have to be replaced by the material filling the bag. However, the blast does serve to take the major creases out of the bag and to erect it to its intended rectangular form.

The second modification of the machine takes the form of an auxiliary hopper generally designated 48 which lies within the normal hopper 14. The small hopper 48 has an insert 50 so that the exact rate of flow desired for the second increment of material can be achieved. Brackets 52 mounted within the hopper 14 serve to hold the auxiliary hopper 48. The insert 50 has an opening 51 at the bottom thereof and by selecting one of several possible inserts, the desired rate of fiow is achieved.

The sequence of operations can best be seen in the several views of FIG. 7. In view A, the weighing device 12 is discharging into the hopper 14 and about 90% of the material passes into the general confines of the large hopper while about falls into the auxiliary hopper 48 located within the confines of hopper 14. At the same time, an air blast is introduced through line 44 into the bag 18. At 7B, the air blast has been shut off and the shaking initiated while the material flows from the two hoppers. Since the opening through the valve is much larger than that through the small orifice 51, a considerable quantity of material remains trapped in the auxiliary hopper 48 as the large hopper empties. Now, as can be seen at 7C, the large hopper is empty and shaking of the bag continues. However, from about 5 to 10% of the total charge of material remains in the auxiliary hopper 48 and this is slowly released as a small stream through the orifice 51 into the bag as the level of the contents already in position is settled by the vibration, resulting in a very fully packed bag and one containing the maximum amount of material for the bag.

In FIG. 10, the control circuit is shown. The actual filling operation is initiated by the operator pulling handle 34. The circuit is initiated by means of an arm 54 on the weighing device.

As the weighing device discharges, a microswitch 56 is closed, starting the time delay switch 58 but immediately closing switches 60' and 62. At the same time, an indicating light 64 is lit showing that the filling operation has commenced. It will be noted that switch 66 remains closed during the period of the time delay induced by the switch 58. It will also be apparent that when the switches 60 and 66 close, the circuit will be completed through the coils of the relay so that now should 56 be opened, the circuit would not be interrupted. At the same time the switch 62 is closed, switch 68 is also closed starts the action of the vibrator through relay 70. The closing of switch 62 also actuated the time delay switch 72 which momentarily closes switch 74 actuating the solenoid valve 42. The time delay of 72 is one of very short duration. When the switch 74 opens the air blast ceases but the action of the vibrator continues. Now after the selected time delay of switch 58 which is arbitrarily chosen to be adequate to fill a bag, switch 66 is caused to open which in turn causes switch 60 to open and also causes switches 62 and 68 to open, shutting ofi the vibrator to avoid bag damage. At the same time the light 64 goes out showing the operator that the filling cycle which has been predetermined by the size of the weir opening 51 and the setting of the major gate 20 is now completed whereupon the operator actuates the handle 34, moving the nozzle and a new bag into position which actuates the Weighing mechanism and starts a repetition of the cycle.

A typical rate-of-fiow pattern is depicted in FIG. 5. This illustrates approximately the following circumstances:

5 secs. of full flow; Abrupt drop to low flow; 2 secs. of low flow; Abrupt drop to zero flow.

A manual switch 70 can be used to give a short blast of air to clear the nozzle should it become clogged.

We claim:

1. In a bag filling machine of the type wherein a premeasured charge of solid material is dropped through an opening into a main hopper and then flows out of the hopper through an orifice in the bottom of the hopper into a bag, the improvements comprising in combination:

(a) an auxiliary hopper located completely within said said main hopper, said auxiliary hopper being located under the openin got the main hopper whereby at least a portion of the charge falls into said auxiliary hopper and is trapped therein, said auxiliary hopper having a restricted discharge opening whereby a portion of the charge trapped by the auxiliary hopper is slowly discharged after the main hopper has emptied, and

(b) means for introducing an air blast through said orifice prior to the discharge of material therethrough whereby a bag placed on said orifice is at least partially opened by said air blast prior to the discharge of material therein.

2. The structure of claim 1 having combined therewith a vibrator mechanism whereby a bag placed on said orifice is vibrated.

3. The structure of claim 1 wherein said air blast is introduced through the discharge orifice at an acute angle to the normal path of flow through said discharge orifice.

4. The structure of claim 1 wherein the auxiliary hopper has in combination a removable insert at the bottom, said insert having an orifice therein whereby inserts having orifices of different sizes can be fitted into said auxiliary hopper.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,291,288 7/1942 Rudd 141l05 FOREIGN PATENTS 389,379 1/1924 Germany 177l22 437,106 11/1967 Switzerland 141-105 HOUSTON S. BELL, IR., Primary Examiner U.S. Cl. X.R. 

